Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the beta release of the Steam application for iOS and Android devices.

With the Steam app, gamers around the world may chat with Steam friends, browse community groups and user profiles, view screenshots and user-generated content for their favorite games, read the latest gaming news, stay up to date on unbeatable Steam sales, and more.

"The Steam app comes from many direct requests from our customers," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "Seeing which of your friends are online and playing a game, sending quick messages, looking at screenshots for an upcoming game, or catching a sale - these are all features customers have requested. Mobile is changing way people interact, play games and consume media, and the Steam app is part of our commitment to meet customer demands and expand the service functionality of Steam to make it richer and more accessible for everyone."

Those who wish to join the beta just need to download the Steam app (free of charge) and log in to their Steam account via the mobile app to express interest in the beta. Gamers will be added to the Closed Beta as the service ramps up.

Steam is a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC and Mac games with over 40 million accounts around the world and over 1,800 titles offered.
For more information, please visit http://store.steampowered.com/mobile

How many times have I been sitting at work and remembered that there was a game on sale that I was considering buying, but couldn't do so because all gaming related internet activity is blocked by my office.

By the time I got home, said game would either no longer be on sale, or I would have totally forgotten about it.

Well thank you Gabe, for all you do, bless your heart. My bank account is now terrified.

Why am I the only one whofails to see the point or big deal about this app that lets you browse screen shots and basically the Steam site? practically all smartphones have a brwser that is fully capable of browsing the Steam site, this offers nothing more that I can see. It's a big fat MEH from me

Why am I the only one whofails to see the point or big deal about this app that lets you browse screen shots and basically the Steam site? practically all smartphones have a brwser that is fully capable of browsing the Steam site, this offers nothing more that I can see. It's a big fat MEH from me

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The mobile market is already huge and still growing... it's a nobrainer to get grounds there as soon as possible.

Why am I the only one whofails to see the point or big deal about this app that lets you browse screen shots and basically the Steam site? practically all smartphones have a brwser that is fully capable of browsing the Steam site, this offers nothing more that I can see. It's a big fat MEH from me

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Some smartphones don't display web pages correctly, and these are better optimized so they can work better, just like the Newegg app I used on my sisters phone.